November 22nd and 23rd - Let's Play!

Theme
Move forward

Readings
1 Peter 5-Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.
2 Peter 1-For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.
Jeremiah 39-42-Pray for us to the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us and we will do it.
Psalm 138-On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul.
Psalm 139-Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

God's Word
I hear your cry and know your thoughts. I am in your heart and will drive sin out. Now go and serve in love those I give to you this day.

Story
It is cold out here. Really cold! Everything in me is beginning to freeze. My fluids are thick and cold. My structure is hard as rock. Then my owner came out. He jumped into the drivers seat and complained how hard it was. He shoved the key into my ignition switch and turned the key. My battery was so cold the water in it was beginning to freeze. My battery strained in the cold to provide enough current for the starter motor to turn and then the starter motor had such a difficult time moving the flywheel. You see the oil and all the fluids were thick. This was so hard to do. But finally the flywheel began to move. The fuel pump strained in the cold to push fuel to the engine. The spark plugs had one heck of a time giving spark to the combustion chamber. But finally it occurred. We had an explosion in the chamber and the pistons began to move. The engine had started! But the cold was all so difficult. Then my owner, in a hurry, stomps down on the gas pedal and forces huge amounts of fuel into the engine and, even as cold as all my parts were, we were thrust into action quickly. I thought for sure something was going to lock up. But as we kept working at it, we became warmer and warmer. Work became easier and easier. Sure it was cold, but now we were called into action. And we acted to the demands of our owner. We faithfully responded to his calls and his maneuvers. We faithfully served him to his calling to go in the direction he was taking us. Sure, he heard our cry of pain at first. But he loved us enough to push us into action and take us with him where he wanted to go. For this reason he had given us faith. In our faith in him came goodness and goodness gave us knowledge that we could perform for him and knowledge produced self-control as we responded to his call and self-control produced the endurance we needed in the cold and endurance brought forth a godliness out of us because of the mutual affection we had for our owner. All this because of love. Love of our owner and our love to respond to his call. Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, You call me into action. Sometimes I complain and groan and mumble. Forgive my hesitation but push me to warm up and take off in the joy of Your love towards me and my love towards You. Push me into active call with Your Love to take to all You give to me this day. ---Amen